The identity of the 15-year-old gunman still hasn’t been released two days after he allegedly killed two students and injured 18 others. Dr. Daniel Phillips teaches sociology and criminal justice at Campbellsville University.

"Being young like 15 to 25, being male, that's the profile of a lot of people who do violence throughout our country," Phillips told WKU Public Radio. 'Do I think there's a way you could go into a school and pick out a person who might do this? Probably not.'"

Absent of mental illness, Professor Phillips says a combination of factors can motivate school shooters, including anger, bullying, or abuse at home. He says the warning signs would have been difficult to spot in the juvenile shooter.

"Teenagers in general may act different or moody, and it may be very difficult for parents or teachers to figure out who's going to do this sort of thing," stated Phillips. "Just because your teenager is upset doesn't mean they're going to do something like this. It may just be that they're being normal teenagers."

Little is known about the teen gunman who has been charged with multiple counts of murder and assault. The alleged shooter is due in juvenile court Thursday, but those proceedings are closed to the public. The teen's identity is being withheld until he is formally charged as an adult, which prosecutors intend to do. In the meantime, the case remains in juvenile court.

The teen's motivation for the rampage remains a mystery. Professor Phillips says while news coverage can encourage copycat shooters, the media also plays a positive role by prompting more action to increase school safety.

The New York Times reports there have been 11 school shootings in the U.S. so far this year. Not all of those incidents resulted in fatalities.

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Prosecutors won't yet seek attempted murder charges against the 15-year-old suspect in a deadly shooting spree at Marshall County High School and will charge him with first-degree assault for now.

Assistant Marshall County Attorney Jason Darnall told reporters Wednesday that the 15-year-old boy will face 12 counts of first-degree assault instead of attempted murder because they feel they have a better case for those charges right now. Darnall pointed out that the penalties for first-degree assault are the same as for attempted murder.

Sen. Danny Carroll, a Republican from Paducah, said he hoped the incident would “pull us together” but that the problem can’t be solved in Frankfort.

“I think the reality is no matter what we do physically, if the student is in the mind to do something like this, they’re going to do it,” said Carroll, who graduated from Marshall County High School and represents the area.

Heather Adams sat in a line of cars along Kentucky Route 95, cars filled with parents who had just received the call no parent wants to get: A shooting at her child’s school, Marshall County High in Benton, Kentucky. Two 15-year-old students were killed and another 18 injured.

Adams was waiting anxiously to pick up her children, a 15-year-old and a ten-year-old. Both were safe and so she could relax enough to talk a bit. Earlier, she was at the high school with other frantic parents looking for answers about their children.

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4:00

In the wake of a school shooting in Marshall County, Nicole Erwin takes a look at laws regarding the safe storage of firearms in the region.

The Kentucky State Police are now saying that a total of 20 people were injured during the shooting. They say 16 suffered gunshot wounds (Previous reports said 19 total, 14 gunshot wounds). This number includes two victims who died.

KSP issued a release with the updated total soon after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday and later offered a clarification regarding the numbers.

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3:14

Nicole Erwin of member station WKMS reports on how the Marshall County community is handling Tuesday's deadly shooting at the local high school.